Debunking Humor...

[Ann K]

I remember the great Cleveland balloon disaster of 1986:


Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBZitH8VFEc

 

[Mendel]

I tried three times yesterday and got the same message, but I can see it now. Thanks, @Calter .

Isn't it nice when disclosure finally reaches you?

I remember the great Cleveland balloon disaster of 1986

I don't remember Project Mogul and its retrieval in 1947.

 

[Ann K]

I don't remember Project Mogul and its retrieval in 1947.

Roswell has dined out on that ever since.

 

[FatPhil]

@Eburacum - I couldn't get the bastard to shut up once it had started:

--> To help develop a sci-fi movie plot, please create a new scientific theory that permits feng-shui to be used to travel faster than light.

LLM served by Perplexity Labs
To create a scientific theory that integrates feng-shui with faster-than-light (FTL) travel, we need to blend elements of quantum mechanics, spatial geometry, and the conceptual framework of feng-shui. Here's a hypothetical theory:

Theory: Quantum Feng-Shui Resonance (QFSR)

Premise:
QFSR posits that the principles of feng-shui, which traditionally involve the manipulation of energy (chi) in spatial environments, can be applied at a quantum level to create localized distortions in spacetime. This allows for FTL travel by leveraging the intricate balance and flow of chi within a specially designed vessel.

Key Components:
1. Chi as Quantum Flux:
In QFSR, chi is reinterpreted as a manifestation of quantum flux, a hypothetical field that permeates spacetime. This flux can be manipulated through the careful arrangement of objects and the alignment of structures according to feng-shui principles.
2. Quantum Entanglement and Chi Resonance:
When a feng-shui optimized structure is created, it generates a unique quantum signature that can entangle with other similar signatures across spacetime. This entanglement allows for instantaneous communication and, by extension, the possibility of FTL travel.
3. Spatial Geometry and Harmonics:
The geometric patterns and harmonics inherent in feng-shui designs are crucial for creating a stable wormhole or Alcubierre warp bubble. These patterns, when aligned with the quantum flux, generate a resonant frequency that stabilizes the distortion in spacetime, enabling safe passage.
4. Energy Source:
The energy required to maintain the QFSR field is derived from a combination of advanced technologies and natural sources. For example, a vessel might use a fusion reactor in conjunction with bio-energy harvested from living organisms, which are attuned to the chi flow through meditation and other practices.
5. Pilot and Crew Role:
The pilot and crew must be trained in feng-shui principles and quantum mechanics to navigate the complexities of QFSR. Their mental states and intentions play a critical role in stabilizing the quantum flux and ensuring successful FTL transitions.

Mechanics of QFSR FTL Travel:
1. Initialization:
The vessel is aligned according to precise feng-shui principles, ensuring optimal chi flow.
The crew enters a meditative state to synchronize their intentions with the quantum flux.
2. Quantum Signature Generation:
The feng-shui optimized structure generates a unique quantum signature, which is broadcast into spacetime.
This signature seeks out and entangles with similar signatures at the destination, creating a quantum link.
3. Wormhole or Warp Bubble Creation:
The entangled signatures create a localized distortion in spacetime, forming a stable wormhole or Alcubierre warp bubble.
The vessel, now resonating with the quantum flux, can traverse this distortion, effectively traveling FTL.
4. Transition and Stabilization:
During transit, the crew maintains the feng-shui balance and quantum resonance to keep the wormhole or warp bubble stable.
Upon reaching the destination, the quantum link is severed, and the vessel re-emerges into normal spacetime.

Scientific Rationale:
1. Quantum Mechanics: The theory leverages principles of quantum entanglement and superposition to facilitate FTL communication and travel.
2. Spatial Geometry: The geometric patterns and harmonics from feng-shui are used to create stable distortions in spacetime, akin to the mathematical models of wormholes and warp bubbles.
3. Energy and Matter: The integration of bio-energy and advanced technologies provides a plausible energy source for maintaining the QFSR field.

Plot Implications:
1. Conflict and Tension: The precise alignment and balance required for QFSR create inherent risks and challenges. Misalignment or disruption of the chi flow could lead to catastrophic failures, providing ample opportunities for conflict and tension in the plot.
2. Character Development: The need for crew members to be trained in both feng-shui and quantum mechanics adds a layer of complexity to character development, allowing for deep explorations of their mental and spiritual states.
3. Cultural and Philosophical Themes: The integration of feng-shui principles raises questions about the intersection of ancient wisdom and modern science, offering rich thematic material for the story.

This theory provides a unique blend of science fiction and traditional concepts, allowing for a compelling narrative that explores the boundaries of quantum mechanics and the mystical aspects of feng-shui.

-- interactive session at https://labs.perplexity.ai/ - model llama-3.1-sonar-large-128k-online

I was too afraid to ask it a follow-up question.

 

[JMartJr]

I am imagining the Alien Super Genius UFO Designer accumulating all the mass in the universe for their warp drive, and triumphantly acheiving Super Trans Light Ludicrous Speed, and only then realizing that there is no place to go because everything in the Universe is now crammed inside their warp bubble, leaving nothing outside to travel to ... all because they forgot to touch bases with Chris Van Der Broeck...

 

[elvenwear]

This is the only way I can listen to Alex Jones.


Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGAAhzreGWw

 

[JMartJr]

 

[elvenwear]

 

[Ann K]

View attachment 71128

Hah! I just woke up with a dry mouth, and popped in a Tic-tac thirty seconds ago.

 

[Mendel]

Hah! I just woke up with a dry mouth, and popped in a Tic-tac thirty seconds ago.

Metabunk Member Ann K observes Tic-Tac in her own Home

Skeptic has no choice but to believe in Tic-Tacs

"I always thought, if no-one can prove it, then 'they're possible' could still mean that they don't exist, but now I've seen them myself. They're definitely real", she told us. Are the extraterrestrials finally seeking contact with the skeptics at Metabunk? Or is this yet another cover-up?

 

[Ann K]

Metabunk Member Ann K observes Tic-Tac in her own Home

Ah, but mine are all wintergreen, so they're safe. Or is that the orbs I'm thinking about...

 

[elvenwear]

 

[FatPhil]

View attachment 71150

Some context for those that don't immediately recognise that chart:

Source: https://www.youtube.com/embed/S-v0CEoRWMo?si=u5Lj_3e9ag4CDV_y

This Huge Cosmology Problem Might Just Have Disappeared
The rate at which the universe is currently expanding is known as the Hubble Rate. In recent years, different measurements have given different results for the Hubble rate, a discrepancy between theory and observation that's been called the "Hubble tension". Now, a team of astrophysicists claims the Hubble tension is gone and it's the fault of supernovae data. Let's have a look.

Yes, it's Sabine Hossenfelder, and sometimes here takes are a bit edgy, but I like that - she will often say things that I thought I'm alone in thinking.

For balance, there's an even more recent segment here on the same subject, from Dr. Becky Smedhurst, 13m34s - 30m56s:
"JWST has turned the Crisis in Cosmology into a bigger problem | Night Sky News August 2024"

Source: https://youtu.be/watch?v=T1JuCPhONlg

 

[Domzh]

View attachment 71150

im too dumb to understand what im looking at

 

[elvenwear]

im too dumb to understand what im looking at

Me too. The purple and pink parts of the graph are two datasets which give different values for the Hubble constant. At the moment, it's one of the biggest controversies in science.

 

[FatPhil]

Me too. The purple and pink parts of the graph are two datasets which give different values for the Hubble constant. At the moment, it's one of the biggest controversies in science.

* MOND enters the room.

 

[elvenwear]

* MOND enters the room.

Ah, a heretic. <edit> This is intended in a playful manner.

 

[Domzh]

Me too. The purple and pink parts of the graph are two datasets which give different values for the Hubble constant. At the moment, it's one of the biggest controversies in science.

ok thank you for explaining. why is it considered funny though? i feel im lacking context

 

[elvenwear]

ok thank you for explaining. why is it considered funny though? i feel im lacking context

In the US, there are Christian activists who want creationism taught in schools. Their catch cry is 'teach the controversy.' They want the controversy about creationism vs evolution taught, however there is no scientific controversy surrounding evolution. It's rare that you see a big controversy in Science. Whenever I see one, I chuckle.

 

[FatPhil]

In the US, there are Christian activists who want creationism taught in schools. Their catch cry is 'teach the controversy.' They want the controversy about creationism vs evolution taught, however there is no scientific controversy surrounding evolution. It's rare that you see a big controversy in Science. Whenever I see one, I chuckle.

Oooof, were it that simple. Steven Jay Gould, and his punctuated equilibria, slapped the "slow and steady small variations" view of evolution right upside the head. The debate got quite heated at times, in particular with Richard Dawkins. This, alas, gave the Christian fundamentalists have an in, because they were too ignorant of the field to understand what the disagreement was over. Analogies are terrible, but it's like an eco-warrior looking at a heated debate about whether electric cars or ICEs are better for street racing and concluding that it's better to walk or take a bike. No offence to eco-warriors intended (I'm carless myself).

Robert Sapolsky addressed the matter with a compromise - what you see depends on the resolving power of the tool you are using to examine the evidence. If you step back and look at fossils falling out of cliff faces (e.g. all the same, then strangely all a bit different), you'll have a completely different view from what the person peering down a microscope (e.g. increase in resistence to a toxin improves by the generation) sees in a petri dish. Both are right, they're describing different things.

 

[elvenwear]

Oooof, were it that simple. Steven Jay Gould, and his punctuated equilibria, slapped the "slow and steady small variations" view of evolution right upside the head. The debate got quite heated at times, in particular with Richard Dawkins. This, alas, gave the Christian fundamentalists have an in, because they were too ignorant of the field to understand what the disagreement was over. Analogies are terrible, but it's like an eco-warrior looking at a heated debate about whether electric cars or ICEs are better for street racing and concluding that it's better to walk or take a bike. No offence to eco-warriors intended (I'm carless myself).

Robert Sapolsky addressed the matter with a compromise - what you see depends on the resolving power of the tool you are using to examine the evidence. If you step back and look at fossils falling out of cliff faces (e.g. all the same, then strangely all a bit different), you'll have a completely different view from what the person peering down a microscope (e.g. increase in resistence to a toxin improves by the generation) sees in a petri dish. Both are right, they're describing different things.

That is fascinating. I thought Dawkins and Gould disagreed on group selection vs selfish genes, but I was unaware of the dispute over punctuated equilibrium.

I suspect even without Guild and Dawkin's debate, there would have been something else they could have picked up on, be it horizontal gene transfer or some other open question.

 

[MapperGuy]

In the US, there are Christian activists who want creationism taught in schools. Their catch cry is 'teach the controversy.' They want the controversy about creationism vs evolution taught, however there is no scientific controversy surrounding evolution. It's rare that you see a big controversy in Science. Whenever I see one, I chuckle.

What I find most amusing about the Teach the Controversy people is their total focus on local school boards and on elementary or high schools.

Have never seen anyone in the Texas legislature demanding that Texas A&M abolish their Department of Geology & Geophysics, or that they must also hire Young Earth Creationists for their faculty. The 'teach the controversy' fans never demand that colleges and universities have Creation Science departments. They never attack the programs teaching the geologists and geophysicists that find the oil and gas the oil and gas companies sell using the combined knowledge of all the earth sciences based on the earth being billions of years old. And fossils are part of that old earth business too, so the biology departments should be abolished too because they are "obviously" based on the lie of an old earth...

 

[JMartJr]

I was struck by the reference to "Std. Sirens," which led to a quick Google search for NON-standard Sirens.

Posted for those of us who saw the graph and audibly heard the "whoosh" as it flew over our heads! ^_^

 

[Trailspotter]

 

[Mendel]

View attachment 71180

that's not the only type of convention where this works

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/73vrh9/spotted_at_the_renaissance_fair/

 

[derwoodii]

im too dumb to understand what im looking at

yeah me too i watched vid and think i got dumber but thanks to poster for trying to expand my universe tho if the observations true its ruined a great Monty python song

 

[JMartJr]

Edit - -Thought of one more little detail it needed...

 

[FatPhil]

Edit - -Thought of one more little detail it needed...

Wow! Just brilliant!

 

[Ann K]

@JMartJr
New slogan: "Wormholes - not just for the lettuce!"

 

[Duke]

I remember the great Cleveland balloon disaster of 1986:


Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBZitH8VFEc


View attachment 70985

I remember the Cuyahoga catching fire on a number of occasions, but not the balloon fiasco. What a happening city.


https://www.smithsonianmag.com/hist...ozen-times-no-one-cared-until-1969-180972444/

 

[John J.]

New slogan: "Wormholes - not just for the lettuce!"

Skinwalker Ranch latest: Giant invisible lettuce detected by researchers.

 

[Ravi]

Can't help it. Every time I read AAWSAP I read

 

[Z.W. Wolf]

I like this guy...

A ufo was sighted on the current date of July 4th, 2010. I single handedly filmed the incident. Believe it or not, here it is!

The last sentence is tough to understand so I'll type it.

Well better turn this video off before something happens.

It gets better, though.

Serious

@roscoe_stella

14 years ago
i seen the same thing in Chicago about 9:45 pm ..it was NOT plane , i grew up BY O HARE ! it WAS NOT a helicopter ...and NO FIREWORK ASH COULD BURN AS LONG AS I SEEN WHAT I SEEN

 

[JMartJr]

Can't tell, but I'd not be shocked if that was one of my lot! Not one of mine personally, but from my crowd of folks.

 

[John J.]

From the thread Scotland's Socorro: the Dechmont/Robert Taylor UFO, 1979
https://www.metabunk.org/threads/scotland's-socorro-the-dechmont-robert-taylor-ufo-1979.13637/post-322585

If there's anything that can be discussed here it's the bizzare debunk offered by Steuart Campbell:that Taylor saw a complex reflection or "astronomical mirage" of venus.

@Giddierone (From your quote of Campbell's book)

Good grief Ann K., when this huge yellow disc appeared, my first reaction was that I must be experiencing a bizarre mirage of the planet Venus...

 

[Ann K]

Good grief Ann K., when this huge yellow disc appeared, my first reaction was that I must be experiencing a bizarre mirage of the planet Venus...

I wasn't quite sure if you could hear my eyes rolling from wherever you are...

 

[Giddierone]

I wasn't quite sure if you could hear my eyes rolling from wherever you are...

Was this you?

 

[RTM]

I think we can file this under cryptozoology.

 

[Mendel]

I think we can file this under cryptozoology.

"Every time a Haggis is caged, a bagpipe falls silent" subverts the intended message.

 

[Hevach]

that's not the only type of convention where this works

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/73vrh9/spotted_at_the_renaissance_fair/

"Excuse me lieutenant is the Prime Directive a JOKE to you? Do you have any idea how deeply you can contaminate a culture like this? It took us eighty years to get this planet to stop worshiping a photo of Captain Archer and you just beam down and start getting your security escort killed. Command will have my report!"